Punk rock … alive and kicking in a repressive state near you

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Admin

Punk rock is ancient history here, but elsewhere disaffected young people are discovering its anarchic energy – despite the enormous risks they face from their oppressive regimesIt’s been a long time since the term “punk rock” could strike fear into the British establishment. The Sex Pistols’ John Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten – was long ago transformed into a pantomimic national institution, and now advertises Country Life butter; it’s 16 years since Tony Blair admiringly mentioned the Clash in a speech at the Brit awards. The spiky-topped punk look is as harmless a part of vernacular British style as Harris tweed;

Murdoch did meet Thatcher before Times takeover, memo reveals

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Admin

The media mogul requested a meeting at Chequers to personally lobby the PM, and explicitly briefed her on his bid – something long denied by both sides• Read the original documents hereA secret meeting between Rupert Murdoch and Margaret Thatcher cleared the way for News International to buy the Times and Sunday Times in 1981, Thatcher’s private files reveal.A long note – marked by her press secretary, Bernard Ingham, as “commercial in confidence” – of the Sunday lunch at Chequers on 4 January, three weeks before the first cabinet committee discussion of the Murdoch takeover, shows the meeting was held

‘Sobriety bracelets’ to monitor offenders in alcohol-related cases

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Admin

Tougher community sentence regime could include advanced electronic ankle tags and greater seizures of criminals’ assetsCriminals convicted of alcohol-related offences who avoid jail will be forced to wear “sobriety bracelets”, which monitor drinking levels, under a tough community sentence regime ordered by David Cameron.Amid concerns in Downing Street that community sentences are a soft option, legislation will be introduced in the Queen’s Speech in May to ensure they include a greater punitive element.The three key reforms identified by the prime minister are likely to lead to:• An advanced electronic ankle tag, dubbed the “sobriety bracelet”, that can detect whether an

Afghan shooting soldier named as Robert Bales

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Admin

Suspect in killing of 16 villagers in Afghanistan due to arrive at Fort Leavenworth, KansasThe American soldier accused of killing 16 civilians in Afghanistan last weekend is Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a US official said on Friday.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide additional details about the soldier, who is believed to have walked off his base in southern Afghanistan on Sunday and gunned down 16 villagers, plunging already tense US-Afghan relations into a tailspin.The soldier’s attorney said the staff sergeant was scheduled to arrive at Fort Leavenworth army base in Kansas on Friday. Bales

Kony 2012 campaigner Jason Russell detained for masturbating in public

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Admin

Russell, co-founder of Invisible Children, allegedly vandalised cars and made sexual gestures while wearing his underwearOne of the co-founders of Invisible Children, the San Diego-based charity which is campaigning for the arrest of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, has been hospitalised after police said he was detained for being naked and masturbating in public.Jason Russell, 33, was picked up by police in San Diego at around 11.30am on Thursday after receiving numerous calls from the public about a man vandalising cars, being apparently under the influence of a substance and making sexual gestures while wearing only his underwear.According to local TV

Report into Stephen Lawrence officer was not shown to inquiry

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Admin

Met investigation raised questions about Ray Adams’s conduct before case, sources sayA secret Scotland Yard report detailing questions about the conduct and integrity of a police chief involved in the Stephen Lawrence case was not given to the public inquiry into the racist killing, the Guardian has learned.Lawyers for the Lawrence family questioned former commander Ray Adams at the Macpherson inquiry in 1998 about corruption.But neither the Lawrence family nor the inquiry panel were given a report by Scotland Yard containing the intelligence and findings of an investigation by its anti-corruption command.The investigation, codenamed Operation Russell, raised questions about Adams’s

Public servants in poorer regions to get lower pay

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Admin

George Osborne to argue in budget that pay should reflect local economies but critics say it will entrench north-south divideGeorge Osborne will announce plans to pay lower salaries to public sector workers in poorer parts of the country in his budget next week.The chancellor will argue that public sector pay should mimic the private sector and be more reflective of local economies. He intends to start the process in three Whitehall departments in the coming financial year, as part of a phased introduction.Critics say the move will entrench economic divisions between north and south and depress regions of the country

Eurozone firewall increased to €700bn

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Admin

German officials believe the scale of the fund will be sufficient to ringfence Greece and allow it to go bust without spreading fears of contagion to other countriesEurozone leaders will inject more than €250bn (£207bn) into the single currency’s protection fund in a desperate effort to prevent contagion from Greece, it emerged on Friday.Finance ministers will agree the package in a fortnight, although it will still leave the insurance scheme around €1.3tn short of City estimates of the firewall needed to protect Italy and Spain from a panic that would follow if Greece went bust.Officials said the main protection fund,

Assad emails: rise of the woman who became key adviser to Syrian leader

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Admin

The US-educated Hadeel al-Ali demonstrated a strong personal and political commitment to Bashar al-Assad and to his survivalOn 27 November last year, a young, ambitious woman sent an email to her boss. It contained a single link, to a piece by the BBC correspondent Paul Woods. Woods had been smuggled into the Syrian city of Homs. His subsequent report gave a vivid account of the smouldering rebellion there, crushed two months later in a remorseless government attack.The woman was the US-educated Hadeel al-Ali; her boss was Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad. The email was sent to a private account used by

Environmental regulations set to be slashed

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Admin

Environmentalists angry over government plans to ‘cut red tape’ on rules over air, land and noise pollution and wildlife protectionScores of environmental regulations are to be slashed under government plans to be announced on Monday, the Guardian has learned.The rules affected include controls on asbestos, invasive species and industrial air pollution; protection for wildlife and common lands; as well as restrictions on noise nuisance and deadly animal traps.Ministers are expected to say the cutting of red tape will save businesses £1bn, but the move has shocked campaigners, who argue that the government’s search for economic growth is mistakenly targeting the